Property firm taking over IP Converge

A property firm called the 8890 Group is set to take over listed firm IP Converge Data Center Corp.

In a disclosure, IP Converge said its major shareholders—privately held IP Ventures Inc. and IPVG Employees Inc.—had agreed to sell their combined 79.5-percent stake in the listed company. The buyers are Janarius Resources Realty Corp., IHoldings Inc. and Kwantlen Development Corp., collectively known as the 8890 Group.

“The buy-in is expected to result in historical highs both in terms of revenues and net earnings for IP Converge,” the company said Tuesday.

It said the 8890 Group was one of the major real estate developers in the Philippines with housing projects throughout the country. “It is also one of the leading low-cost housing developers in Visayas and Mindanao,” the company said.

As part of the share sale, the 8890 Group said it would conduct a tender offer to buy out minority shareholders in IP Converge. The tender offer price was set at 95 centavos per share.

IP Converge used to operate two data centers—for the delivery of Internet-hosted software services to large corporations—in Metro Manila. These assets were recently sold to IP Ventures.

In 2011, the 8890 Group posted P2 billion in revenue. For 2012, the company expects its assets to top P7.3 billion, with a net income after tax of P500 million.

The 889 Group is in the process of developing 15 projects in Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Clark, Pampanga and other major hubs in the Philippines.

Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities, said IP Converge’s minority shareholders would be jeopardized by the company’s move to spin off its profitable data center business to take in new investors.